Bug FAQBroad-handed Carpenter Bee
Xylocopa latipes · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Broad-legged Carpenter Bee, Giant Bornean Carpenter bee
Source: Wikipedia
These bees are among the largest carpenter bees and are fully black with metallic-blue-green or purple wings that shine in sunlight. They live in forests, nest by boring into wood, and in cities they often return to the same perches for many generations. In Southeast Asia they are used to pollinate passion-fruit and naturally pollinate many other plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
They are shiny, completely black, and their wings look metallic blue-green or purple when the sun hits them. Their flight produces a loud, low-pitched buzz that can be heard as they move between flowers or sit on a perch.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
They are among the biggest species of Xylocopa and rank among the largest bees worldwide.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
In Malaysia they often choose useful structural woods for nesting, boring into them with strong mandibles. They tend to avoid certain native Malaysian trees such as nyatoh, kapur, kempas, and mengkulang.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They inhabit forested areas and make nests by burrowing into wood. In urban settings they may attach to a specific perch and keep returning to it for several generations.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Naturally they pollinate a variety of plants throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
They can produce more than two generations per year when floral resources are abundant.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is widely distributed across Southeast Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
They are among the largest Xylocopa species, though not the absolute largest bee in the world.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
Do they damage my house?
Yes, they can bore into structural wood, weakening beams and other wooden parts of a building.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I identify a broad-handed carpenter bee?
Look for a large, completely black bee with metallic-blue-green or purple wings that shine in sunlight, and listen for a loud, low-pitched buzz.
Source: Wikipedia
Are they a problem for gardens?
They are beneficial pollinators for many Southeast Asian plants, including passion-fruit.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylocopa_latipes
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.